Saturday, April 28, 2018

Cinco de Mayo literally translates to fifth of May and
commemorates the Mexican army's 1862 victory over France at the Battle of
Puebla during the Franco-Mexican War of 1861-1867. Although a relatively minor
holiday in Mexico, in the United States Cinco de Mayo has evolved into a
celebration of Mexican culture and heritage, particularly in areas with large
Mexican-American populations. Cinco de Mayo traditions include parades,
mariachi music performances, and street festivals in cities and towns across
Mexico and the United States. As s longtime resident of Southern California,
I've definitely seen many Cinco de Mayo celebrations.

Here's a brief history of Mexico's Cinco de Mayo holiday:

Mexico, formerly known as New Spain, declared their
independence from Spain on September 16, 1810.After fighting an 11 year war, they finally achieved their independence
in 1821.

In 1861 [at the time of the U.S. Civil War], Benito Juarez
became president of Mexico, a country in financial ruin.He was forced to default on Mexico's debts to
several European governments. In response, France, Britain, and Spain sent
naval forces to Veracruz to demand payment of the loans. Britain and Spain
negotiated a settlement with Mexico and withdrew.France, ruled by Napoleon III, decided to use
the opportunity to create a dependent French holding in Mexican territory. Late
in 1861, a large well-armed French fleet landed at Veracruz and drove President
Juarez and his government into retreat.

Certain of a swift French victory, 6000 French troops set
out to attack Puebla de Los Angeles [not to be confused with Los Angeles,
California, as California had been a state in the U.S. for eleven years at that
time]. From his new headquarters in northern Mexico, Juarez rounded up a
rag-tag force of loyal men and sent them to Puebla. Led by Texas-born General
Zaragoza, the 2000 Mexicans fortified the town and prepared for the French
assault. On the fifth of May, 1862, the French commander moved his
well-provisioned army, supported by heavy artillery, into position at the city
of Puebla and began their assault from the north. The battle lasted from
daybreak to early evening, and when the French finally retreated they had lost
nearly 500 soldiers to the fewer than 100 Mexicans killed.

Although not a major strategic victory in the overall war
against the French, Zaragoza's victory at Puebla reinforced Mexican resistance,
and six years later France withdrew from Mexico. The same year, Austrian
Archduke Ferdinand Maximilian, who had been installed as emperor of Mexico by
Napoleon III in 1864, was captured and executed by Juarez' forces. Puebla de
Los Angeles, the site of Zaragoza's historic victory, was renamed Puebla de
Zaragoza in honor of the general. Today, the anniversary of the Battle of
Puebla is celebrated in Mexico as Cinco de Mayo, a national holiday.

Saturday, April 21, 2018

Museum of Natural History in London, England (yes, it IS open to the public)

Museums…those public and private repositories of anything
and everything that might be of interest to someone, collections open to the public
to enjoy and that educate.They
encompass a wide variety of interests such as fine art, items showing the
natural history of a region, or something as specific as a hair collection.

I recently found a list of 10 very specific
museums/collections with a common thread—they are not open to the public.

CIA Museum

Needless to say, one of the most secretive agencies in the
entire United States government (and the world) wouldn’t just throw the doors
of their archives open for everyone. The Central Intelligence Agency’s internal
museum is one of the most thorough collections of intelligence memorabilia on
Earth with over 3,500 items. The collection includes documents from the OSS
[Office of Strategic Services created in WW II, the forerunner of the CIA], spy
weapons and equipment, and even an AK-47 rifle that belonged to Osama Bin
Laden. The only public aspects of the Museum are three showcases at the CIA’s
headquarters in Langley, Virginia. And that building isn't easy to get into,
either.

International Museum
And Library Of The Conjuring Arts

If you’re looking for a community of people who like to keep
secrets, the CIA isn't the only place to look.Professional magicians are right up there, too. Considering that their
careers hinge on being able to fool people, magicians aren’t crazy about
opening up to the public. David Copperfield has used his vast fortune to amass
a collection of over 150,000 pieces of magic history from practitioners like
Harry Houdini and hundreds of others.It’s located in a 40,000 square foot Las Vegas warehouse that has a fake
hat shop in the front. [I saw a television special about Houdini including an
auction of items from his career with David Copperfield being one of the major
successful bidders on several items]

The United States isn’t the only nation that keeps its
intelligence archives in a private museum. Turkey’s MIT spy group has been
amassing an impressive collection of memorabilia from top-secret operations for
years. Stored at the group’s headquarters in Ankara, the museum’s glass display
cases contain such spy craft relics as a shoe wedge designed to store a hidden
microphone, hollowed-out objects for secreting code books, and bugging devices
discovered in Turkish embassies abroad during the Cold War. A Turkish newspaper
requested access to the museum and was allowed in for one day, but that’s the
only time the Museum of Espionage has ever been seen by the public.

Canadian Museum Of
Making

It is possible to get inside the doors of the Canadian
Museum of Making, which is located on a private ranch near Cochrane, Alberta,
but it’s not easy. The museum’s owner, Ian MacGregor, is very picky about who
he allows through the doors. From the outside, you’d never know that the 20,000
square foot museum is even there, because he constructed the complex entirely
underground. Inside is one of the world’s most extensive collections of
mechanical objects from between 1750 and 1920. Every once in a while, MacGregor
will open the doors to select people, but it's a rare occasion.

El Museo del
Enervantes

Intended for use in the training of military staff waging
Mexico’s seemingly endless war against the drug cartels, El Museo del
Enervantes, located in Mexico City, is a private museum that chronicles every
aspect of the world of narcoterrorism. In-depth exhibits illustrate the
manufacturing process involved in making cocaine, heroin and other drugs. A
huge display case shows off dozens of handguns confiscated from drug lords,
many encrusted with gold and jewels. There is also a plaque commemorating all
the Mexican soldiers who died on duty since 1976.

The Honda Secret
Museum

Many automakers rent out space to spotlight important
moments in their history, but Honda defies the trend by making their history
museum closed to the public. Assembled by company veteran Lou Staller, it’s a
collection of almost 50 cars and motorcycles that commemorate Honda’s successes
and failures. Included in the collection is a Honda N-600 from 1970—the first
passenger car the company sold in the States—and the 1997 EV Plus, the very
first electric vehicle to be marketed here. The museum is only accessible to
Honda employees, and the vast majority of them have never been there, making it
a treasure trove for car enthusiasts.

Musée d'Anatomie
Delmas-Orfila-Rouvière

The Musée d'Anatomie Delmas-Orfila-Rouvière permanently
closed its door to everyone—public and invited only—in 2005. Prior to that
time, it was the largest and most complete anatomy museum in France. The
Museum’s collection began in 1794 and expanded steadily over the years to
include upwards of 5,800 anatomic items from humans and other animals. Some of
the coolest stuff on display includes casts of the heads of executed 19th
century criminals, comparative anatomy displays of reptiles and birds, and
skulls of deceased mental patients. It occupied the eighth floor of the
Descartes University’s school of medicine, and access was granted only to the
medical elite.

The Black Museum

Scotland Yard, one of the most famous crime-fighting
institutions in history, has amassed some serious items. If you want to see
them, they’re kept in the Black Museum. Located at police headquarters in
London, this collection of evidence from some of Scotland Yard’s most notorious
crimes includes the pots serial killer Dennis Nilsen used to cook his victims
and a taunting letter from Jack the Ripper. Also on display is a vast array of
weapons used in the commission of crimes, including some cleverly disguised
tools of mayhem. There is a current discussion about finally making the museum
open to the public, but as of now it’s still police only.

The U.S. Secret
Service Museum

It appears that taxpayer money is supporting a
disproportionate number of museums that aren’t open to the public. Located in
the nondescript office building that houses the Secret Service headquarters is
a small private museum that’s only open to invited guests. Inside the one-room
museum are artifacts from some of the most shocking crimes in American
history—assassination attempts on Presidents. Among these artifacts is the
bullet-scarred window from Ronald Reagan’s limousine on the day that John
Hinckley attacked and the assault rifle that Francisco Duran used to spray bullets
into the White House in 1994.

The Zymoglyphic
Museum

The Zymoglyphic Museum in San Mateo, California, is open
to the public—but only for two days out of every year. The museum's creator
houses his collection in a small outbuilding off of his garage, down a
nondescript suburban cul-de-sac. Inside is the world’s largest assemblage of
animals and artifacts from the Zymoglyphic Era…a period in Earth’s past that
never existed. The dioramas, housed in aquarium tanks, are well thought out and
executed with incredible attention to detail.

Saturday, April 14, 2018

This list puts historical moments into a
time-line context that will surprise you when you discover which one of two
happenings is older.At least most of
them surprised me. :)

1)Harvard University was founded before
calculus was invented

Originally called the New
College, 1636 is the date for the founding of Harvard University, the
oldest institution of higher education in what is now America.It should also be noted that physicist,
mathematician and astronomer Galileo was still alive during Harvard's early
years.He died in 1642.The invention of calculus didn't come about until
1684 with Gottfried Leibniz's publication of Nova Methodus.

2)The Pyramids of Giza were built before wooly
mammoths became extinct

It's believed that the last wooly mammoths died out
approximately 1700B.C. on Russia's Wrangel Island.The Pyramids of Giza, in Egypt, were built
approximately 300 years earlier (about 4,000 years ago).There are some claims that the pyramids might
be even older than that.

3)The fax machine is the same age as the Oregon
Trail

1843 is the year Alexander Bain, a Scottish mechanic,
invented the first fax machine.The same
year the Great Migration on the
Oregon Trail began when a wagon train of approximately 1000 migrants attempted
to travel west but probably died of dysentery along the way.

4)Jewelry store Tiffany & Co. was founded
before Italy was a country

1837 is the year Charles Tiffany and John Young founded
Tiffany & Young which became Tiffany & Co. in 1853.1861 is when General Giuseppe Garibaldi led a
successful campaign to bring the various city-states together as one nation,
although Rome held out for a number of years after that.Macy's was founded in 1858, also prior to
Italy becoming the nation we know today.

5)France was still using the guillotine when
the first Star Wars movie was
released

1977 is the release date of the first of the Star Wars movies.A few months later is when France conducted
its last execution by guillotine.The
guillotine had been used in France for approximately 200 years.And another French time line fact to boggle
the mind:1889 is the year of the Eiffel
Tower, the same year Nintendo was founded (the company originally made playing
cards) and Van Gogh painted The Starry
Night.

6)Betty White Is Older Than Sliced Bread

1928 is the date when bread was first sold commercially as
sliced rather than the traditional whole loaves.Prior to that, bakers didn't believe that
sliced bread could stay fresh.Betty
White was born in 1922, six years before the invention that became the
benchmark for greatness with future inventions being heralded as the greatest thing since sliced bread.

7)Two of President John Tyler's grandsons are
still alive

1841 to 1845, John Tyler was America's tenth president.And, surprisingly, two of his grandsons are
still alive.As of March 2018, both Lyon
Gardiner Tyler, Jr. (born in 1924, 94 years old this year), and Harrison Tyler
(born in 1928, 90 years old this year), are still alive. President Tyler was
born in 1790 which means just three generations of his family covers almost the
entire history of the United States of America starting with the winning of our
independence at the conclusion of the Revolutionary War in 1783.

8)Oxford University is older than the Aztecs

Teaching began in Oxford as early as 1096. The University
was officially founded by 1249. The Aztec civilization as we know it began with
the founding of Tenochtitlán in 1325.

Saturday, April 7, 2018

An obviously irrational concept that a mere number can bring
bad luck to someone.Or that a specific
day of the week can be unlucky.But that
doesn't stop us from dwelling on the possibility.

This week gives us Friday the 13th.The tradition of Friday being a day of bad
luck dates back centuries with some of the more common theories linking it to
significant events in the Bible believed to have taken place on Friday such as
the Crucifixion of Christ, Eve offering Adam the apple in the Garden of Eden,
the beginning of the great flood.

Many sources for the superstition surrounding the number
thirteen and its association with bad luck also derive from Christianity with
the Last Supper being cited as the origin.Judas was the thirteenth person to be seated at the table.

And when you put the two bad luck symbols together you get
Friday the 13th…the day associated with misfortune.

One legend of the origin of Friday the 13th as
unlucky comes from the persecution of the Knights Templar. Philip IV of France
borrowed enormous sums of money from the very wealthy Templars to finance a war
with England. An ineffectual king and an even worse military commander, Philip
was easily defeated. He saw a way of both currying favor with the Pope and eliminating
his huge debt. On that fateful day of Friday, October 13, 1307 he ordered all
Templars arrested and their property seized. The Grandmaster of the order,
Jacques DeMolay was thrown in prison along with several other high-ranking
members of the order. The Knights Templar, which had dominated medieval life
for two centuries, was no more. Unfortunately for Philip, the Templars had
learned of his planned treachery before hand. Many of them escaped and their
vast stores of treasure were hidden from the King’s soldiers. Jacques DeMolay
was burned alive after being tortured when he refused to admit to any
wrongdoing. Another legend that has also persisted is that Jacques DeMolay
cursed both Philip IV and Pope Clement V, as he died. Philip and Clement died within
months of DeMolay’s death.

Superstition is a belief or notion not based on reason or
knowledge.An irrational belief.Lots of superstitions came into being during
the Dark Ages, a time when living conditions were so severe that people reached
out to anything that might bring them help and solace with the results being
explanations for what seemed unexplainable at the time.Religious beliefs and lack of scientific
knowledge helped to spawn many superstitions.

Superstitions differ from culture to culture, but we all
have them even if it's only paying surface homage to the concept.We don't believe in the good luck vs. bad
luck of chain letters, yet it often comes down to saying what's the harm, then sending the letter on to avoid breaking the
chain.

We often follow the tradition of the superstition without
really knowing why it's the traditional
thing to do.If we blow out all the
candles on our birthday cake with one breath while making a silent wish, then
the wish will come true.When expressing
a desire for good luck (we'll be able to go on the picnic if it doesn't rain),
we grin, then we knock on wood as we
emit an embarrassed chuckle.

In Western folklore, many superstitions are associated with
bad luck.In addition to Friday the 13th
there's walking under a ladder, having a black cat cross your path, spilling
salt, stepping on a crack, and breaking a mirror among others.

In addition to cultural superstitions, there's also certain
occupations that evoke various rituals to bring on good luck.It seems to me that gamblers and sports
figures have the most superstitions and rituals to insure good luck.

Do you have any superstitions that you hold dear?Are they more of a traditional situation
handed down through your family or are they superstitions that have come down
through history?

And I'm sure there won't be any unpleasantries or bizarre
accidents this Friday (knock on wood).

At The Tycoon's Command

A decades old feud...could they stop fighting long enough to find some common ground for love?

Cowboy Dreaming

Did her desire to heal a ten year rift with her father get her more than she bargained for?

Falling For The Enemy

She's determined to prove he's a ruthless shark responsible for her father's death. Is she wrong?

Fortune's Secret Child

Book #3 of a 5 book continuity series featuring the Arizona branch of the wealthy and powerful Fortune family. Can love and trust be rekindled after so much heartbreak, especially with a small child at the center of the situation? A self-contained story that also includes elements of the storyline that starts in book #1 and concludes in book #5.

Having The Best Man's Baby

He broke her teenage heart when they were in high school. Was it about to happen again?

In Forbidden Territory

She was his best friend's sister and declared off-limits. Was he playing with fire?

In His Safekeeping

Witnesses in a federal racketeering case have been dying in 'mysterious' accidents. Can he keep her alive while trying to figure out what's happening...and why?

Lover Unknown

Lauren Jamison's psychic vision showed a man falling from a cliff, then Kyle Delaney knocked on her door bringing life threatening danger.